An Age Old Problem [Chapter 5]
Jan. 22nd, 2007 12:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
esp_dragonFandom: Golden Sun 2/Boktai 2
Summary: There have been strange happenings in Weyard. New monsters are appearing, people are seeing the dead walk, earthquakes. Then that boy appears. He says he's from a place called San Miguel (where in Weyard is that?) and he seems to be using ... different psynergy from what everyone else is using.
Rating: K
Notes: Set after both games. Why do all my chapters seem boring to meeeee? And why do they keep on mirroring stuff?
Genre: Action/Adventure
Word count: 2,405
Status: Work in Progress
Ivan called out to a woman as she walked past him. "Hello, excuse me, have you seen this boy before?" he asked, holding up a picture of Django for her too see.
The woman took two seconds to briefly glance at the picture and then shook her head without slowing down or stopping. She was nearly immediately lost again in the mass of surrounding bodies.
Ivan was fast getting used to this. Bilibin was fairly busy (maybe not as much as Kalay but still...) and its people were seemingly always on the move. What Ivan didn't know was that when they had broken Tret's curse on Kolima it created more trade in Bilibin as it soon became a go-between for Imil and Kolima for trading. Now that Ivan thought about it, Bilibin was larger than the last time he had visited; McCoy must have been pleased with that development. He looked up when he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder.
"Maybe we should enquire where people are in less of a rush," Piers suggested, eyes scanning for an appropriate place to move to.
Nodding in agreement, Ivan started to walk towards where he was fairly sure the inhabited houses were, leaving the bustling market streets behind while Piers followed after him.
Ivan tried to speak to another person while on the move but the person brushed by him, completely ignoring him. He sighed, and then focused on the thought of where the houses were. 'This is going to be a long day...'
:-:-:
The man eyed Jenna with suspicion as she showed him a picture of Django.
"No," he said curtly, "I've never seen him in my life. Why are you asking?"
"Well, we found him and we just want to get him back to his family," Jenna said, answering his question carefully.
The man snorted. "The people of Lunpa do not leave often - not after Dodonpa." He sneered. "He tarnished what Lunpa was and-" Stopping himself was talking further, the man shook his head angrily and walked away.
Jenna and Felix exchanged glances, conveying their confusion and dismay to each other.
They didn't realise that they were surrounded by guards until someone behind them spoke to them.
"You're to come with us."
Surveying the area around them and searching for possible exits, Jenna found none. If she and her brother tried to resist, the people around them could get hurt unintentionally.
Sighing, Jenna relaxed from her attacking stance and saw that Felix had already done the same. Nodding in relief, the guard who had spoken motioned for them to follow.
:-:-:
Isaac stared at the stairs in front of him with trepidation. Sheba was standing next to him, unsure as to what to do. They had asked a few people about Django but so far, the results had been negative. Isaac had carefully steered Sheba to where they were without her fully knowing: at the bottom of a set of stairs that wound up to lead to Babi Palace. Sheba couldn't see it since the trees and high cliffs obscured most of her view but what peaked from above the tress said that it was impressive.
Did Isaac know who lived in there? Sheba wondered. He had to, if he had gone to Lemuria for Babi.
Babi. He had held her hostage so that her father would make sure that Babi Lighthouse was built.
And then she was taken from him by Saturos and Menardi. From there she learned more about herself and that she wasn't as strange and alone as she had previously thought. There were others like her, people who had the ability to change the world around them. That knowledge had eased some of her worries.
Sheba turned her head to face Isaac when he took a hesitant first step onto the stairs. Half pivoting to look back to Sheba, Isaac said to her, "You don't have to come if you don't want to. I'm not dragging you along with me."
Glancing back at what was visible of the palace Sheba shook her head. "I'll come." She took a deep breath before continuing. "It happened and I can't change the past. Anyway, we'll have the rest of the day to ask about Django won't we?"
Isaac had a gentle smile on his face. "Yeah, I'm not sure how long this could take though," he warned.
"If we found Django's family after one day of searching we would call that a miracle wouldn't we?" Sheba countered, trying to ignore the flare of pain in her heart. "We're not expecting something so fast but we're trying to do what we can."
Isaac took another step up on the stairs. "Let's go then."
:-:-:
Django woke up with a start. He waited for a few moments to re-orientate himself with his surroundings and to remember what had happened. Lifting up the covers off of his body and peering at his leg showed that it was completely healed. The only evidence that there had ever been a wound was a light scar that showed up against his tanned skin.
Tracing over it absentmindedly (it was just another scar to add to the collection after all) Django thought over what had happened after the healing of it. The blond boy had ordered him to sleep and even though Django wasn't feeling sleepy, he felt his eyelids become heavier and a sudden need to yawn. Just before he drifted off, Django was sure that he'd sensed something coming from the boy. It felt like when Mia or the red-haired girl had used that psynergy on him. Maybe that was another thing that 'psynergy' could do.
The feeling of that psynergy was different from the other two though. Now that he was thinking about it, they each felt different from each other. It could be that psynergy was different for every person; it was unique to whoever wielded it.
So many people with power. If the Undeadening curse were to reach here (wherever 'here' was)... Each person could potentially be a Crimson Monster level if they survived. Django stopped his train of thought - it wasn't good to dwell on the 'what could happen'.
Looking out the window, Django saw that it was morning. So how long had he been sleeping? And how much of yesterday had been spent asleep anyway, he thought with a wince. A lot.
Django's stomach contracted painfully. He was suddenly aware just how empty it was, not to mention the dryness of his throat. The last time he remembered eating or drinking was... before he went to the Catacombs. That had been practically a day ago.
How was he going to find something to eat?
:-:-:
Jenna and Felix followed the guard through the twisting tunnels. Felix had tried to memorise the way back but there were far too many doors, stairs and passageways that it became confusing after a while just trying to keep track of all of them. He also supposed that Jenna was amusing herself considering how the guard's torch was moving eratically and her fixed gaze on it.
The guard came to a stop outside a door. After knocking, he turned to Jenna and Felix and waved them inside.
It was a bedroom, a rather small bedroom. There was only enough room for a bed and a bed-side table. And the bed was occupied. The man was old, very old. Wrinkles were permanently etched into his features and although he looked like he still had all his hair, it was grey with a few streaks of white showing through. Felix saw the walking stick propped up against the bed-post and wasn't surprised.
The man had been sitting up, reading a book when they had entered. Looking up from it he nodded to the guard who left instantly, closing the door as softly as possible. The man put the book on the bed-side table.
"I'm sorry to have had you brought here," the man started, his voice a little raspy but not as weak as Felix expected it to be, "but after hearing of your search I was intrigued." He paused, considering his words. "Not a lot of people come to Lunpa anymore. They are afraid that we are little more than bandits now and the ones who do come are deterred by the barricade and armed guards." Jenna and Felix were given a pointed look. "The last time someone had come here was some time ago; a merchant doing his business, and a group of four Adepts."
Jenna and Felix stiffened, hoping that it wasn't noticeable and hoping that the man didn't know what they were. Their weapons had been taken off them when they reached the fortress entrance but they still had their Psynergy. But if they used it, the man would know that they were Adepts for sure. And leaving the room to get away would mean getting lost in the tunnels almost certainly.
The door swung open and a woman stalked in, a scowl on her face. "Donpa, you should be resting, not entertaining guests," she fussed as she tidied up his covers.
Donpa? Felix frowned at the name. He'd heard that name somewhere before... 'And Donpa... He is my son...' He'd heard it in Lemuria, from Lunpa. It was a disquieting thought. The son was old and near the end of his time on Weyard while the father was still strong enough to kick down doors and to run around.
Donpa shook his head. "I have rested enough today." The woman finished with the bed and then looked up to study his face. What she saw must have pleased her because she gave way.
"Don't wear him out," she warned to Jenna and Felix as she passed by them.
When the door closed Donpa began to speak again. "From what I could see of the west passageway, only Adepts could get through." He paused again, expecting them to respond in some way. When they didn't, Donpa continued, "This all points to at least one of you being an Adept. All I want to know is if you know of an Adept by the name Isaac?"
Felix saw Jenna glance at him, wondering how to respond. "We do," Felix confirmed. "We know of him. Why are you asking?"
Donpa relaxed, smiling. "The next time you see him, tell him that I wish to thank him again for his help and that I would like to see him one more time before I die. Could you tell him that?"
Hesitantly, Felix nodded.
"Thank you." His request asked, Donpa settled back under the covers. "The guards will escort you back to the outside.
"Okay." They left while Donpa started to read again.
:-:-:
Isaac looked up at the flickering flames that illuminated the hallway. What the light fell upon was a portrait of Babi sitting on top of what seemed like his chair in the audience room. His expression was serious and Isaac felt like the painting could really see him.
'I failed you,' Isaac thought somberly. 'I swore that I would bring the draught of Lemuria back to you. We hadn't even joined up with the others when we heard rumours of your death. We weren't allowed to take any drought from Lemuria and it was by then that we realised that we couldn't go back.
'The tidal wave that came soon after we set sail also brought with it turbulent currents that made it impossible to sail though. Maybe if-'
"Isaac? Isaac, is that you?" Isaac turned around to see Iodem hurrying towards him. "I don't believe it, we saw lights arcing through the sky but-" He stopped when he spied Sheba standing beside him. His eyes widened and his speech became an awed whisper. "We thought you had died; we weren't able to find your body but for you to survive such a drop..." Iodem glanced away but quickly looked back. "I should not have doubted your father; Faran said that you would survive as you had been in such situations before."
"What has happened to Lalivero?" Sheba asked quietly.
Iodem became subdued by the question. "They have broken a lot of ties with Tolbi, with good reason. We were responsible for you and you were captured by Saturos' group."
"There was nothing more violent?"
A shake of the head. "No. After Babi died, quite a lot of tension left."
Isaac fidgeted. "Iodem..." He waited for the man's attention before he fished something out of his tunic. "I... I said that I would only be borrowing this." in his hands he held out the Cloak Ball.
Ioden carefully took the Cloak Ball out of Isaac's hands. He stared at it for a few seconds before closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I cannot take this," he said and gave it back to Isaac.
"But -"
"No." Iodem shook his head again. "I am not the rightful owner of it. And I have no use for it; I am not an Adept nor do I know how to control it. If it is still needed by you then you should keep it."
Staring at the Cloak Ball in silence, Isaac then pocketed it with a murmured thanks.
"Is that the only reason why you came here?" Iodem asked.
Sheba shook her head. Unfurling the scroll in her hand, she showed it to Iodem. "Have you seen this boy before?"
Iodem studied the picture before sighing in defeat. "I do not but I wouldn't be the best person to ask. I spend a vast majority of my time in the palace."
"Okay, thanks anyway. I guess we'd better leave now then." Isaac and Sheba turned to leave.
"Sheba?" She paused and tilted her head at Iodem. "Please return to Lalivero sometime in the future. Your parents have been worrying ever since you were taken by Babi," he said quietly.
Sheba turned away. "I know."
:-:-:
Django mused over his predicament. Maybe he should just wait for Mia to come. But he didn't know when she would be back. But if he left, considering his recent luck he would either end up unconscious (again) or one of his arms would be injured this time. Maybe there was food in the house. But it wasn't his.
He had a feeling that he could be staying in 'his' room trying to decide what to do for some time.
Summary: There have been strange happenings in Weyard. New monsters are appearing, people are seeing the dead walk, earthquakes. Then that boy appears. He says he's from a place called San Miguel (where in Weyard is that?) and he seems to be using ... different psynergy from what everyone else is using.
Rating: K
Notes: Set after both games. Why do all my chapters seem boring to meeeee? And why do they keep on mirroring stuff?
Genre: Action/Adventure
Word count: 2,405
Status: Work in Progress
Ivan called out to a woman as she walked past him. "Hello, excuse me, have you seen this boy before?" he asked, holding up a picture of Django for her too see.
The woman took two seconds to briefly glance at the picture and then shook her head without slowing down or stopping. She was nearly immediately lost again in the mass of surrounding bodies.
Ivan was fast getting used to this. Bilibin was fairly busy (maybe not as much as Kalay but still...) and its people were seemingly always on the move. What Ivan didn't know was that when they had broken Tret's curse on Kolima it created more trade in Bilibin as it soon became a go-between for Imil and Kolima for trading. Now that Ivan thought about it, Bilibin was larger than the last time he had visited; McCoy must have been pleased with that development. He looked up when he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder.
"Maybe we should enquire where people are in less of a rush," Piers suggested, eyes scanning for an appropriate place to move to.
Nodding in agreement, Ivan started to walk towards where he was fairly sure the inhabited houses were, leaving the bustling market streets behind while Piers followed after him.
Ivan tried to speak to another person while on the move but the person brushed by him, completely ignoring him. He sighed, and then focused on the thought of where the houses were. 'This is going to be a long day...'
The man eyed Jenna with suspicion as she showed him a picture of Django.
"No," he said curtly, "I've never seen him in my life. Why are you asking?"
"Well, we found him and we just want to get him back to his family," Jenna said, answering his question carefully.
The man snorted. "The people of Lunpa do not leave often - not after Dodonpa." He sneered. "He tarnished what Lunpa was and-" Stopping himself was talking further, the man shook his head angrily and walked away.
Jenna and Felix exchanged glances, conveying their confusion and dismay to each other.
They didn't realise that they were surrounded by guards until someone behind them spoke to them.
"You're to come with us."
Surveying the area around them and searching for possible exits, Jenna found none. If she and her brother tried to resist, the people around them could get hurt unintentionally.
Sighing, Jenna relaxed from her attacking stance and saw that Felix had already done the same. Nodding in relief, the guard who had spoken motioned for them to follow.
Isaac stared at the stairs in front of him with trepidation. Sheba was standing next to him, unsure as to what to do. They had asked a few people about Django but so far, the results had been negative. Isaac had carefully steered Sheba to where they were without her fully knowing: at the bottom of a set of stairs that wound up to lead to Babi Palace. Sheba couldn't see it since the trees and high cliffs obscured most of her view but what peaked from above the tress said that it was impressive.
Did Isaac know who lived in there? Sheba wondered. He had to, if he had gone to Lemuria for Babi.
Babi. He had held her hostage so that her father would make sure that Babi Lighthouse was built.
And then she was taken from him by Saturos and Menardi. From there she learned more about herself and that she wasn't as strange and alone as she had previously thought. There were others like her, people who had the ability to change the world around them. That knowledge had eased some of her worries.
Sheba turned her head to face Isaac when he took a hesitant first step onto the stairs. Half pivoting to look back to Sheba, Isaac said to her, "You don't have to come if you don't want to. I'm not dragging you along with me."
Glancing back at what was visible of the palace Sheba shook her head. "I'll come." She took a deep breath before continuing. "It happened and I can't change the past. Anyway, we'll have the rest of the day to ask about Django won't we?"
Isaac had a gentle smile on his face. "Yeah, I'm not sure how long this could take though," he warned.
"If we found Django's family after one day of searching we would call that a miracle wouldn't we?" Sheba countered, trying to ignore the flare of pain in her heart. "We're not expecting something so fast but we're trying to do what we can."
Isaac took another step up on the stairs. "Let's go then."
Django woke up with a start. He waited for a few moments to re-orientate himself with his surroundings and to remember what had happened. Lifting up the covers off of his body and peering at his leg showed that it was completely healed. The only evidence that there had ever been a wound was a light scar that showed up against his tanned skin.
Tracing over it absentmindedly (it was just another scar to add to the collection after all) Django thought over what had happened after the healing of it. The blond boy had ordered him to sleep and even though Django wasn't feeling sleepy, he felt his eyelids become heavier and a sudden need to yawn. Just before he drifted off, Django was sure that he'd sensed something coming from the boy. It felt like when Mia or the red-haired girl had used that psynergy on him. Maybe that was another thing that 'psynergy' could do.
The feeling of that psynergy was different from the other two though. Now that he was thinking about it, they each felt different from each other. It could be that psynergy was different for every person; it was unique to whoever wielded it.
So many people with power. If the Undeadening curse were to reach here (wherever 'here' was)... Each person could potentially be a Crimson Monster level if they survived. Django stopped his train of thought - it wasn't good to dwell on the 'what could happen'.
Looking out the window, Django saw that it was morning. So how long had he been sleeping? And how much of yesterday had been spent asleep anyway, he thought with a wince. A lot.
Django's stomach contracted painfully. He was suddenly aware just how empty it was, not to mention the dryness of his throat. The last time he remembered eating or drinking was... before he went to the Catacombs. That had been practically a day ago.
How was he going to find something to eat?
Jenna and Felix followed the guard through the twisting tunnels. Felix had tried to memorise the way back but there were far too many doors, stairs and passageways that it became confusing after a while just trying to keep track of all of them. He also supposed that Jenna was amusing herself considering how the guard's torch was moving eratically and her fixed gaze on it.
The guard came to a stop outside a door. After knocking, he turned to Jenna and Felix and waved them inside.
It was a bedroom, a rather small bedroom. There was only enough room for a bed and a bed-side table. And the bed was occupied. The man was old, very old. Wrinkles were permanently etched into his features and although he looked like he still had all his hair, it was grey with a few streaks of white showing through. Felix saw the walking stick propped up against the bed-post and wasn't surprised.
The man had been sitting up, reading a book when they had entered. Looking up from it he nodded to the guard who left instantly, closing the door as softly as possible. The man put the book on the bed-side table.
"I'm sorry to have had you brought here," the man started, his voice a little raspy but not as weak as Felix expected it to be, "but after hearing of your search I was intrigued." He paused, considering his words. "Not a lot of people come to Lunpa anymore. They are afraid that we are little more than bandits now and the ones who do come are deterred by the barricade and armed guards." Jenna and Felix were given a pointed look. "The last time someone had come here was some time ago; a merchant doing his business, and a group of four Adepts."
Jenna and Felix stiffened, hoping that it wasn't noticeable and hoping that the man didn't know what they were. Their weapons had been taken off them when they reached the fortress entrance but they still had their Psynergy. But if they used it, the man would know that they were Adepts for sure. And leaving the room to get away would mean getting lost in the tunnels almost certainly.
The door swung open and a woman stalked in, a scowl on her face. "Donpa, you should be resting, not entertaining guests," she fussed as she tidied up his covers.
Donpa? Felix frowned at the name. He'd heard that name somewhere before... 'And Donpa... He is my son...' He'd heard it in Lemuria, from Lunpa. It was a disquieting thought. The son was old and near the end of his time on Weyard while the father was still strong enough to kick down doors and to run around.
Donpa shook his head. "I have rested enough today." The woman finished with the bed and then looked up to study his face. What she saw must have pleased her because she gave way.
"Don't wear him out," she warned to Jenna and Felix as she passed by them.
When the door closed Donpa began to speak again. "From what I could see of the west passageway, only Adepts could get through." He paused again, expecting them to respond in some way. When they didn't, Donpa continued, "This all points to at least one of you being an Adept. All I want to know is if you know of an Adept by the name Isaac?"
Felix saw Jenna glance at him, wondering how to respond. "We do," Felix confirmed. "We know of him. Why are you asking?"
Donpa relaxed, smiling. "The next time you see him, tell him that I wish to thank him again for his help and that I would like to see him one more time before I die. Could you tell him that?"
Hesitantly, Felix nodded.
"Thank you." His request asked, Donpa settled back under the covers. "The guards will escort you back to the outside.
"Okay." They left while Donpa started to read again.
Isaac looked up at the flickering flames that illuminated the hallway. What the light fell upon was a portrait of Babi sitting on top of what seemed like his chair in the audience room. His expression was serious and Isaac felt like the painting could really see him.
'I failed you,' Isaac thought somberly. 'I swore that I would bring the draught of Lemuria back to you. We hadn't even joined up with the others when we heard rumours of your death. We weren't allowed to take any drought from Lemuria and it was by then that we realised that we couldn't go back.
'The tidal wave that came soon after we set sail also brought with it turbulent currents that made it impossible to sail though. Maybe if-'
"Isaac? Isaac, is that you?" Isaac turned around to see Iodem hurrying towards him. "I don't believe it, we saw lights arcing through the sky but-" He stopped when he spied Sheba standing beside him. His eyes widened and his speech became an awed whisper. "We thought you had died; we weren't able to find your body but for you to survive such a drop..." Iodem glanced away but quickly looked back. "I should not have doubted your father; Faran said that you would survive as you had been in such situations before."
"What has happened to Lalivero?" Sheba asked quietly.
Iodem became subdued by the question. "They have broken a lot of ties with Tolbi, with good reason. We were responsible for you and you were captured by Saturos' group."
"There was nothing more violent?"
A shake of the head. "No. After Babi died, quite a lot of tension left."
Isaac fidgeted. "Iodem..." He waited for the man's attention before he fished something out of his tunic. "I... I said that I would only be borrowing this." in his hands he held out the Cloak Ball.
Ioden carefully took the Cloak Ball out of Isaac's hands. He stared at it for a few seconds before closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I cannot take this," he said and gave it back to Isaac.
"But -"
"No." Iodem shook his head again. "I am not the rightful owner of it. And I have no use for it; I am not an Adept nor do I know how to control it. If it is still needed by you then you should keep it."
Staring at the Cloak Ball in silence, Isaac then pocketed it with a murmured thanks.
"Is that the only reason why you came here?" Iodem asked.
Sheba shook her head. Unfurling the scroll in her hand, she showed it to Iodem. "Have you seen this boy before?"
Iodem studied the picture before sighing in defeat. "I do not but I wouldn't be the best person to ask. I spend a vast majority of my time in the palace."
"Okay, thanks anyway. I guess we'd better leave now then." Isaac and Sheba turned to leave.
"Sheba?" She paused and tilted her head at Iodem. "Please return to Lalivero sometime in the future. Your parents have been worrying ever since you were taken by Babi," he said quietly.
Sheba turned away. "I know."
Django mused over his predicament. Maybe he should just wait for Mia to come. But he didn't know when she would be back. But if he left, considering his recent luck he would either end up unconscious (again) or one of his arms would be injured this time. Maybe there was food in the house. But it wasn't his.
He had a feeling that he could be staying in 'his' room trying to decide what to do for some time.